The Nairobi Securities Exchange or the NSE is a market like any other but specialises in financial instruments such as government and corporate Bonds, stocks, trusts. Started in 1954, there 51 listed companies and the number will increase this year. Stocks or Shares are unit of ownership in a company. One important factor to remember is that when you invest in stocks, you are investing in the future of the firm. The NSE is divided into two markets, the Main Market Section and the Alternative Investment Section.

So how do you Make Money from the NSE?

There are mainly two ways of making money.

Capital Gain – The selling of shares at a price higher than the buying price.An example is an investor who bought Safaricom 1000 shares at kshs. 5.50. When Safaricom announces their annual results, the price of the sharesrises to kshs. 7.50. The investor sells the shares at that 7.50. For every share held, he will make a gain of 2.00. Meaning he will make a capital gain of 2,000/=.

DIVIDENDS – Companies normally share their profits through offering dividends to the shareholders. Suppose the same investor decided not to offload the shares, but take the dividend offering. Safaricom decides to offer a dividend of 80 cents per share. The Investor will earn 800/= from their investment.

PRICES

Share prices on the NSE float up and Down. There are several Factors that determine the Price Movement on the market.

Forces of Demand and Supply

On a particular day the prices of the shares of given companies may move up due to demand where investors want a given stock. In other instances, the prices of these stocks may go down due to much supply. The demand and supply is sanctioned by various factors such as Company Performance. When KCB registered stunning performance for the first quarter, the demand for the share rose from average of Kshs 36.00 to Kshs 38. 00. Corporate action where decisions in a firm affect the price of the share in the market. The failed acquisition of Kenol-Kobil by PUMA energy had adverse effects on the price of the stock. News Stories also affects the shares of the company. If you read the Business Daily on Tuesday, it provides clear insight on news stories on companies such as change in leadership and planned company activities. Some of the news in a large way affects the share price. Economic Status of the Firm also affects the price of the shares whereby revenues and profits may lead to investors buying shares while a decline may lead to dumping of stocks. On the economic status of the firm, increased debt and poor acquisition may lead to poor prices of shares.

HOW TO BUY AND SELL

Buying of Stocks on the NSE is done through Authorised Brokers. Investment Banks also serve as Brokers. Some of the authorised Brokers are Dyer and Blair, Genghis Capital, Suntra Investments, Kingdom Securities, Tsavo Securities among others. To purchase shares, an investor requires a CDS account (Central Depository Settlement Account). The minimum number of shares for any investor is 100 shares or shares worth 3,000/= shillings. The standard charges are 2.1% for shares below 100,000/= or 1.8% for shares above 100,000/=.

NB: – buy when Low, sell when High!!

TERMS

You have probably heard this on the news. These terms are common in the market.

Bullish run – a trend where the share prices are expected to rise. Bullish markets are characterised by increased investor confidence and optimism for strong results.

Bearish run- A trend where the prices of stocks decline over a period. Over this period there is pessimism and most investors anticipate losses.

Index- An index is used as a yard stick to reflect the market that they represent. On the NSE, there are various indices with the NSE share index being quoted the most by the media. Indices normally show trends in investment patterns.

Some of the Indices commonly quoted in the world include the NASDAQ Composite that tracks performance of technology companies, the Dow Jones Industrial Index that tracks the 30 largest companies and the Standard and Poor (S&P) which tracks the 500 most traded companies on the NYSE.

Market Capitalisation– The market Capitalisation is the number of shares multiplied by their current price on the stock market.

Sectors- Simply the classification of stocks based on the industry such as agricultural, commerce and services.

The SAMSUNG GALAXY S IV is King. The S4 is a combination of class and performance geared towards giving the ultimate android experience. Dubbed the Life Companion, the S4 is out to make life easier. The S4 runs on the latest jellybean 4.2.2 with a superior 5-inch display coupled up with a Full HD Amoled display. A 13 Mega-pixel Camera and a quad-core processor!! Clearly, it is a Beast.

Assuming you have just bought the Samsung Galaxy S4, and downloaded the security enhancements from Samsung Store (That is always the First thing I do) what apps should I install?

BROWSERS

Browsing the internet is the first thing on everyone’s mind. It’s typical to have Chrome, Mozilla, Opera and all other mobile browsers on your phone but on the S4, Chrome will be the best choice. Chromeis fast in response, and easily handles tabs and lets the user to switch between the desktop and the phone and manages bookmarks and user’s most visited sites for ease of access.

Alternative: Users can also downloadDolphin Browser, which offers a closer experience to Google Chrome

Keyboard

I have always had problems with the Samsung keyboard and the decision to have the S4 come with the Swift Key Board, as the default was futuristic. Swift Keyboard is faster, easier and more accurate. It also learns the words and the phrases commonly used and how one interacts with the keyboard.

With the 5-inch display and quad-core processor, gaming will be a top agenda for most S4 users. Top on the S4 accessory is the S4 Game Pad that uses Near Field Communication to allow the user to play their games. Among the games S4 users can enjoy include Dead Trigger that lets the player shoot zombies over various levels under a basic progression system where players upgrade their arm assortment as they progress. Popular games such as Temple Run, Angry Birds and Cut-the-Rope need minimal introduction. With the gamepad, racing and sports gamers are out for an experience and Asphalt 7 and FIFA 2012 and FIFA2013, should offer the player quite the thrill.

Keeping up to date with all the news and information is no longer about reading 7 newspapers daily. Flipboard not only makes reading news fun and casual, it makes wholesome. If you do not fancy politics, users can easily edit that and read what they like. Sharing information is also easy with links to Facebook and twitter. Appy Geek is also another platform that delivers the latest news in the tech world and keeping you knowledgeable. Additional applications a user may need to make the news experience better include Pocketand Instapaper where users can post articles and read them later on.

Alternative: Alternative applications for Flipboard, IncludePulse,which offers users a chance to choose topics they are interested in and a feed for the same is delivered to them via the application. Currentsand Material Beta also offer the user such an experience.

It is common knowledge that there is an influx of malwares and virus within the android platform. Actually, the number has tripled and subsequently quadrupled meaning security is key. I would advise that you use McAfee and Norton antivirus but they will not be as effective as the Mobile antivirus Security Pro, a product of AVG. I have used the antivirus on various android devices and it has not only been effective but also does not eat into your RAM.It also lets block call and texts, protects from spammers and warns you of impending threats.

There are also those must have applications on your phone. Some of the applications which are a must have on the S4 include Google Keep provides a unified remainder that is integrated on your email, with the 5” screen, Side Bar Prowill aid in switching apps, Google Googles this application allows you to search via photos or images. With the 13MP camera, there is just so much Google Googles will Google. MA3Route an application that will keep you aware, on the traffic situation in Nairobi, PesaDroid to help you manage your M-pesa balances better.

The Samsung Galaxy SIV launches on the 26th. Pre-orders through Safaricom via this link http://www.safaricom.co.ke/samsungs4/ once you lay hands on the beast, be sure to use the Checklist. Wishing you and Your “Life Companion” an easy life :-).

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From managing our finances, security, gaming to trafficking these mobile apps have come a long way. They have clearly earned the spot and it’s about time we crowned them here.

Traffic and Social Location

Ma3Route

This is a mobile, web and SMS platform developed by Nasoft Technologies with the aim of having passengers and drivers share traffic information through the creation of coded traffic feeds. I am a regular user of this application (@MrEricWainaina) and to say the least it’s a total bliss. The app not only lets you know what’s happening in your route but also gives real time fare charges on the same route. It also allows you to find directions using social location apps such as foursquare and Google maps. Added feature #discover lets the user learn amazing facts about road safety and transport in general. The explore town feature also lets you discover towns around Kenya. I am looking forward to an update that will let me interact with other road users on my route. A past review of the Application can be found here https://ericwainainaonline.wordpress.com/2013/01/28/app-alert-ma3route/ Don’t have the App yet?

Subscribe to traffic notifications through SMS short code is 7955. Send “vipi roadname” to get latest traffic update. For example, “vipi Forest road”

Follow on twitter @ma3route

Rating 9/10

Ma3route Helps find the route fare and get coded information about your route.

Security

WIPEOUT

When a pal of mine lost their Galaxy Note, I set out looking for a Kenyan Application that would offer my droid the security I needed. And yes I Found it. Wipeout! The Application running on Android and Symbian lets you back up your information and restore it when needed. Now to ensure the security of your device, it lets you wipeout the data of your device (Factory Reset) whenever it’s lost meaning that all your personal information is safeguarded. This also means that the contacts and SMS you had on your phone are not lost. To add on, you can change the screen lock of your lost phone and also control when and how to change the screen lock of your lost phone. It also lets you monitor how many screen lock attempts have been made onto your lost device. The App is available on Nokia Store and Google Play for a one week free trial where it will then cost the user 650/=.

I have been using this application for close to a year now and I enjoy every aspect of it. Regular updates and amazing features. Currently on version 0.4.3, the app has improved graphics, is more user friendly as well coupled up with a superb user interface. Pesa Droid is an application that lets keep track of your M-PESA transactions ensuring that you are accountable on how you use your funds. Read more on the Application here https://ericwainainaonline.wordpress.com/2013/01/15/pesa-droid-2/.The App lets you generate statements over a given period of time. Among the enhancements that have been bolstered on the application are security features meaning no unauthorized persons can randomly use your information as well as a transaction assistant which is available on the Payable module (Alfajiri) that helps you perform your M-PESA transactions. The other is the feature for M-PESA agents to track their transactions. Pesa Droid is just the Premier M-PESA Application!!

This is gaming application offers all round entertainment and keeps you captivated that you even lose track of time. The application gives you a feel of the wild as you battle it out with wild animals and evade the land mines to move to the next level. The game also gives you the Temple Run thrilling as you escape the hurdles in it. The Application is very much Kenyan with traditional Maasai Music tunes belting out as you spear a Lion and Jump over the landmines and rocky terrain. A help in form of a raven appears with extra spears and arrows to help you navigate.

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Since the launch of the blackberry OS 10, there have been blogs, columns in newspapers, articles on the web, analysts on TV all reviewing and asking the question, can the Blackberry OS 10 SAVE Blackberry? I watched, read, analyzed and here are my thoughts.

The blackberry OS 10 has paved way for the development of the Blackberry Z10 and the Blackberry Q10 which pundits say are revolutionary products in BlackBerry’s quest to take over the smartphone market which they previously dominated. Firstly I would like to thank Blackberry for giving its enthusiasts a product that they have waited for and which I believe is worth the wait. Remember the story about the Eagle in its quest to have a new lease of life? I see Blackberry as the Eagle which flies to the high mountains when, it is aged and undergoes the painful process of shedding its feathers and talons in order to acquire new ones after which it flies even higher and becomes better. To say the Least, it has been that period for Blackberry. The last three years have seen the Canadian smartphone maker go through a painful process.

First, was the ouster of the Company CEO and Founder Michael Lazaridis after shareholders felt he was not doing enough to keep the firm in profitability? According to the Verge theverge.com/rim-blackberry-mike-lazaridis-jim-balsillie-lost-empire, Lazaridis saw Blackberry then called RIM as the same old firm he had created as a young engineer. The other painful part of the Blackberry process of shedding the feathers was the flop of the Blackberry products such as the Porsche, Milan, and London which had been named after cities to make it easy to identify with the user. I remember reading about them (Telegraph.co.uk/technology) and the comments from users weren’t as pleasing. Their flagship[ tablet the playbook was dismissed as a disaster based on the fact that it lacked what most Blackberry’s were known for swerve email capabilities. The ouster of Blackberry as the premier smartphone by small players such as Samsung from Korea and others such as Apple was a hard pill to swallow to. Subsequently, the Blackberry shares nose-dived. I remember my Friend Emmanuel Chenze telling me Blackberry is as good as gone. It’s the next Kodak.

Moving on with our analogy of the Eagle, Blackberry moved up the “hills” Being its Waterloo Headquarters and reorganized itself. The firm acquired small firms which would strengthen its research and development wing and help it develop what is today the Blackberry OS 10. In addition to that Blackberry was notorious for having few applications in the BB App world and it held events known as the Blackberry Jam that brought together App Developers who created Blackberry Apps. To tackle the problem of apps, The Blackberry OS 10 is now lets you download Android Apps and use them on your Blackberry. Other old talons that have been shed are the dropping of the name RIM to Blackberry which was a concrete Re-branding exercise. The reconstitution of its Board to include members who would help the firm steers in the way of its goals was also a key decision that has enabled the firm re-energize.

Blackberry Z10, running on BB10.

The Blackberry Torch-Running on Blackberry OS 7

A peep at the BB10

Blackberry 10 launch

First the new Blackberry OS has totally changed its face. According to Crackberry.com, not a single line of Code from Blackberry OS 7 was used in the Blackberry 10 which goes on to tell the amount of time and resources that were invested in making it a good product. In fact, Users have had to wait for 3 years to get their hands on the new OS which explains how much hard work was put into. Users of the new OS admit that the OS is actually awesome especially with the Peeking ability that lets you balance full screen usage such that you can balance the usage of your device. This allows “Fluid Workflow” which to me is simply multitasking. Blackberry is set to launch an update for their tablet the Playbook. Meaning users will soon us the BB10 on their Tabs something they have longed for. Blackberry is a product that was tailor made for the enterprise or the business people. Blackberry has included mobile cloud into the new OS which will be offered as data Centre as a service meaning your Blackberry will act as your Virtual Machine (I shall talk about Cloud computing soon). Others are swerve multitasking as well as better functionality and simplicity.

SECURITY

The complex Blackberry security

Security is a critical aspect of the BB range of devices. As you may well remember, during the Egyptian uprising, Blackberry services popular known as BBM was widely used to spread messages on the revolution as the RIM’s system couldn’t be penetrated. BB is widely used in firms due to its robust systems and ensures that company data is not accessed by unauthorized parties. In this regard, BB10 has integrated the Blackberry Enterprise Server with the awesome Blackberry Balance framework thereby ensuring users jeep personal and business data on the same device without the option of either being accessed.

WINNING?

There is a popular saying that Once you go Black, You never Go Back. Whoever said this must have been intimating at Blackberry. Blackberry has a cult following and millions of loyalist who didn’t abandon the brand even when it was on the blink of collapse. BlackBerry needs to know that to succeed it will have to do so with the Users. Most of them love Blackberry for their Blackberry Internet Service.BB10 was initially developed without the capabilities which have prompted the firm to launch the update today after massive backlash from users. On top of that, it needs to ensure that consumers enjoy multitasking capabilities as well as regular updates of the OS. In addition, a wide array of smartphones from which consumers can choose is also something Blackberry should do if winning is part of the game.

The very popular Blackberry Messager (BBM)

I also posted this on my twitter page today www.twitter.com/amarueric that Blackberry needs to concentrate on gaining back its market share from the competition and then concentrate on individual markets. Just this afternoon, Blackberry announced that the BBZ10 will not be launching in Japan and other non-core BB markets. This may have been prompted by the fail of the City named BB smartphones. This strategy will ensure that Blackberry makes more sales and also stage an aggressive marketing campaign as they badly need the sales. In this regard BB also needs to engage carriers to market the new smartphones aggressively. This is already underway in South Africa, the States, and The UK and hopefully Safaricom will do so soon.

Hurdles

Off course, there are a few problems BlackBerry will face in its quest. The market is already saturated with Smartphones and content at this stage is King. The phone maker needs to come up with an all-round strategy tackling both the app world, the OS, the marketing and research and development if it is to edge out the competition. The competition, in this case Samsung, has come up with Safe, to offer robust smartphone security which is one of the areas that gave BB an edge over the competition. The timing is also a bit wrong as the S4 is launching sometime in May, windows phone and also the next apple product. However, Thumbs up to Blackberry You did IT!!!

Drivers are always searching for the fastest route. This at times leads to the clogging of roads and too many drivers on one road with the aim of beating the traffic. Ma3ROUTE is an innovative Android Application that works to help you beat the crazy Nairobi traffic as well as get information on traffic hotspots. This happens through receiving traffic updates, incident and accident reports from other MA3ROUTE users.

WHAT IS MA3ROUTE?

Ma3ROUTE home

MA3 ROUTE is an integrated trafficking application that uses traffic mapping and incident reporting to provide traffic information on the roads of Nairobi. Drivers can thereafter find the most optimal route based on that information. Nairobi Traffic is labeled as one of the worst in the world. Traffic information can be received in several modules which are via SMS, WEB and through their android application. The information is not only real time but also Coded which makes it easy to use. The codes used are Moderate, Clear, Bumper to Bumper, poor visibility and Impassable which alerts the user on which routes to use and which ones to avoid.

FEATURES

COMMUNITY AND FEEDS

The application has a “community” where users are able to share traffic updates in real time and a feed is created on social networking sites and this informs the user of traffic hotspots and they are aware of the traffic situations. There are several traffic applications that I have used such as K-TRAFFIC, RUSH HOUR but THIS FEATURE sets Ma3ROUTE apart. The ability to convert the traffic information into a feed with codes makes it not only reliable but also clear cut. I hope soon we shall have a group in the “community” where I can interact with other commuters in my area.

MA3ROUTE Traffic codes

TRAFFIC MAPPING

Through Traffic mapping, the application can be able to correctly predict which roads will have a lot of traffic and at what time. This is particularly important to the user who doesn’t have time to search through the feeds to find the information. In fact as one buckles their seat belts before igniting the car, they can receive SMS updates from MA3ROUTE and decide which route is best to use.

OTHERS

Other core additional features that the application has included; directions to various places, reporting of traffic incidents and accidents, news and stories as well as FAQs on roads and traffic from around the world which are delivered through the application and website provide a forum for one to learn more.

The “Mulika Dere” function, enables one to report incidents of bad driving.

THE DEVELOPER

Laban Okune of Nasoft Technologies

THE GOOD

The Application is reliable, integrated, simple to use and all in all a trend setter as far as traffic updates are concerned.

The Bad

The aesthetics. The developer worked towards making it simple and integrated at the same time. However, Great Application right there.

FUTURE

Ma3route has great potential. Road users are already embracing it majorly due to its credible information and it is already at use by media houses to report traffic around Nairobi. I see new frontiers for Ma3route being used to find taxis nearby where the driver can directly interact with the client on the other end. Seamless integration with car system to offer both directions and traffic updates, Creation of SOS feeds where in case on an incident I can alert roadside rescues through the application. I am also looking forward to Ma3route widget for my desktop. Perhaps a scoreboard for the users who dutifully use the application to update on road situations. Probably Ma3Route will evolve into a traffic location sharing app more like traffic foursquare?